the dragon tamer
by Gigabytes
Summary: all is unwell in the land of minegarde for hunters as they slowly become obsolete with the advancement of new weapons. ruath, a rookie hunter, has been shunned his whole life. however, when he find a wyvern egg in the plains, his life takes a new turn.
1. prologue: the demise of royalty

_**Prologue: **_

_**The demise of royalty**_

The forest and hills zone, Named after its great forest and its large hilly areas, usually referred to as the kokoto plains, is normally a quiet and peaceful place, with the only terror that goes there being the occasional herd of bullfango. However, wyverns (and bird wyverns) can be found here as well. Usually there will be a migrating wyvern or, in the worst case, the deadly duo of heaven and earth. The rathian and rathalos pair.

Today was once of those days.

Above the plains, above the mountains and almost above the clouds, the king of the wyverns circled. This was his domain, and no one could take it from him. Here, he and his mate would reap the land, claiming all by either tooth or fire. The anger of heaven and earth was a deadly combination.

He swooped down low and slammed into a straggling apatonoth from the heard and quickly devoured the small thing on a rock. Before spreading his wings and soaring yet again into the skies.

Something was wrong; he could smell it in the air. The apatonoth were too many, and the velociprey to few. No, instead jaggi had been spotted in the area, there pack being stronger and in more number then the velociprey. Whilst the prey had more size and strength, the jaggi had speed and precision. And when it came down to the dromes, the jaggi was a clear winner. They drove out the opposing pack from this area, and claimed this as their new home. However, although strong in numbers, they still could not match the might of the sky king. They flee before him.

There it was again, that smell in the air. It was the smell of smoke, but it had a tinge to it that the rathalos did not recognise. He chose to ignore it; his mate would take care of it if it was a nuisance. Again he flew down and grabbed at another apatonoth, a little larger this time. The herbivores took no notice. It was if they didn't care, they were too big in number to worry about just one of their herd. After he devoured it he flew to a nearby creek and drank. Only after he had drunk did he realise something was terribly wrong. Why had his mate not yet flown? Surly the clutch did not need that much protection. After all, they were both there and no one but the greatest hunters would dare face the two of them. He decided that a quick check in the cave would be a good idea.

As he drew nearer the cave, the smell increased. It smelled of burnt meat, and the rathalos concluded that its mate has caught an egg thief and roasted it alive. He entered at the top of the cave and landed. It looked to the side of the cave.

If its eye ridges could move they would have widened.

To one side of the cave lay his mates body, blackened and burning by dragon fire. A hole in her left side made it look like she had been run through by a diablos. Next to her, the egg clutch lay in pieces, yoke and small lifeless wyverns littering the floor. The king of the skies cried in mourning for his loss.

However, his morning attracted the attention of those on the other side of the cave. There were three of them. Humans, and they were standing in front of a giant ballista. Mounted in the ballista was what seemed to be the spike of a monster.

The spike of an elder dragon.

The rathalos spotted them and roared in outrage at them, before lifting off into the air, preparing a fireball, his eyesight red with rage.

He didn't get the chance. He suddenly felt as if his entire side had been ripped open. As fell fell he turned to see the dragon spine embedded in his side. The pain was excruciating.

He hit the ground, pain overcoming his senses. The humans quickly poured a liquid over him and set it alight. Dragon fire, a rathalos killer.

He knew he was dying, and didn't struggle. He looked at the burning remains of his mate. And noticed something. Out of the twelve eggs, only eleven bodies could be seen. He looked and found the egg; hiding under the wing of the great green beast. This was his last image, before his world went black…


	2. Chapter 2: the day in the life of Ruath

**hey guys, gigs here. OK, so technically this is the first chapter (the last one being a prologue). here we meet our main protagonist, Ruath. hope you guys enjoy readingthis as much as i enjoy writing it. now, on with the story!**

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><p>Chapter two: the day in the life of hunter Ruath<p>

Every day is the same.

This thought ran through my head as I laid there on the bed in my 'home'. I say it's a home, but really it's just a shack; there only enough room for a bed and a single chest. That's it. No shelves, no felynes ready to help me at my beck and call.

It was just a shack.

I got up, and stretched. I felt an itch on my face, and after inspection I realised that I had facial hair. This reminded me that it was my eighteenth birthday soon. I sighed, dreading that day…

About a half-hour later I had donned my hunters armour and my long sword. I was lucky to have it. It was a gift from my father before he left. He said that it was to be greater than the great sword (the pun wasn't appreciated). It's a shame that it never made it to the village.

Speaking of the village, kokoto was unusually loud today. I stepped out of my shack (shack is such a hobo name don't 'cha think? Maybe I should start calling it a hut…nah, shack is definitely the right word) and looked to see what the noise was. It was a circle of people cheering around a giant ballista and three men. I sighed; looks like the ballista brothers have done it again…

I walked over to the village elder. He was once a great hunter and chief of the village. Now, the villagers call the eldest brother, Marco, chief. I took my regular spot leaning on the wall before I spoke to him.

"So, what was it they killed this time?"

The chief looked up at me, only bothering to open one of his eyes. "The rathalos and rathian pair that had been spotted in the woods recently."

I nodded in understanding, that pair I had sensed the moment they arrived. My hunters armour gave me the ability to track monsters. It's hard to explain, but I can sense the distance a monster larger then me is and because of this, can detect when a monster dies. Of course it's only limited to a certain radius, but that's fine.

"So, anything else to report chief?" I asked.

The elder sighed and shook his head at me. "Ruath, you know I'm chief no longer, why do you not respect the brothers? They have done nothing but bring this village good fortune-"

"Yes but there means are unconventional, and they have had an attitude problem towards me since day one. I haven't had a decent quest to go on since they turned up. It's not that that's a _bad _thing and I'm not complaining, but all I do is collect resources. I still have yet to defeat a drome!"

"Yes but we can't send you against the jaggi drome until we have enough information on it, also you don't have enough experience-"

"And we wouldn't let you even if you did" came a voice from a little in front of us. We both turned to see the ballista brothers standing there in front of us, arms crossed and smug grins on their faces. A crowd formed a semi-circle behind them, and had gone deathly quiet. They knew a confrontation was coming.

"Well if it isn't little Ruath. What 'cha doing over here? Shouldn't you be out collecting resources to repair our cannon? After all, protecting the village is top priority" came the call from the eldest of the brothers, Marco. A few years ago the villagers decided he should be chief, to which only a few declined. Even now, I still refuse to give him that title.

"Oh, I don't know Marco, I just felt like taking a stroll and talking to the village elder, there's nothing wrong with that right?" he flinched when I used his name. No one called him that, aside from me.

"Watch it, boy." Came the angry growl from the middle brother, Caelum. "You know this is the chief you're talking to? Be respectful or else-"

"Or else what?" I sneered. "It's not as if you three idiots can make my life any worse now is it? After all, here I'm just one more mouth to feed, what it is you can do?" i smiled at the look of anger on their faces, until Marco returned with a smile of his own.

"We can take your precious long sword there" he said. He smiled with satisfaction at the anger that flushed on my face.

"You wouldn't dare! Not even a chief can relieve a hunter of his weapon-"

"No but the guild can, and who's to say that you didn't draw it on me? No one here will disagree with me. After all I'm the chief." His smile only widened when my face took a look of defeat, but the rage was still there.

"…fine, I'll get your damn resources"

"Good boy. Oh! And while you're at it, bring down those rath-carcasses will ya? There's a good lad" he walked away, his brothers and there entourage following suit. I growled, and punched the wall, wincing in pain.

"Don't worry, child" came the voice of the elder. "All will be well soon."

I turned to him, frowning, curious with what he was on about. "And how can you be so sure?"

He chuckled, before replying "call it an old man's intuition. You can take a few aptonoth with you to help lug those two wyverns down."

I smiled. "Thanks, chief"

He smiled right back "do not mention it, Ruath. Just bring them back in one piece"

I began my trek down the road, down onto the plains. I expected to be back by nightfall, with two carcasses and many monster bones for ballista repairs. It was an easy collection.

Sometimes easy just isn't what you'd expect.

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><p><strong>so thats it. i know, its a teeny bit dark. but dont worry, poor Ruaths life is just about to take a turn. but for better or worse, you just have to tune in on the next update! read it, love it, review it. gigabytes out<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: a gift from the heavens

**Hey there my loving fans! (Oh how few there are XD) here's chapter three!**

**Now, this chapter is a little longer then usual. but seen as my chapters are a little on the short side I'll think this will be a nice change. A continuous one? Maybe so. Only time will tell.**

**Now, on with the story!**

**Warning! This chapter contains a small amount of gore! You have been warned!**

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><p><span>Chapter three:<span>

A gift from the heavens/ an unexpected turn of events

The plains. Formerly known as the forest and hills, we changed its name after we realised how stupid it sounded. A place of beautiful landscapes, perilous cliffs and a large cave at the summit of the cliffs. The perfect home for monsters.

But for me, it was a barrel of misery. What with aptonoth stampedes, rockslides blocking my way, not to mention the odd wyvern that decides I'd look good extra crispy (although I'm sure my sword would give there stomach hard time. That's karma you bastards!). I hated this place. It was a rookie death trap. What I'd give to go to Moga woods. Hell, I'd even give the mountain range a try! But no, I was stuck here, riding an aptonoth, about to drag two wyvern carcasses that would only ever be used for their heads. I hate seeing valuable materials wasted…

A tap on my right shoulder indicated that my companion wanted my attention. It was cho'gath, the third and final ballista brother. He was the shortest, but he also had the most muscle. His black hair has been spiked into the shape of a rathalos crest.

Cho'gath looked at me curiously. Out of all the brothers, he was the only one who actually tried to acknowledge me for what I am. Sure he played the evil brother when the other two were around, but if you looked close you could see the pity in his eyes. For he didn't speak. Not for lack of words but for lack of tongue. As a child he had asked the chief to become a hunter. He was accepted, but his brothers didn't agree to his career, so they 'convinced' there brother to change his career options. However, over the past month I've noticed that he's been sneaking of to the training hall at night, and coming back around two to three hours later tired, sweating and with a huge grin on his face. Today he was coming to help me, under the guise that he was coming to prevent me from carving from the carcass. Like there was anything of use once those clowns were through.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked. He simply pointed in the direction of the cave, and I understood what he meant. That's where the carcasses were. Oh joy.

I'll skip the boring bit and get to the part where I am at the cave. And needless to say, it wasn't a pretty site. Both of the remains had gaping holes in their sides, burn marks from the liquid dragon fire and khezu whelps were already digging around inside the body. We had to pry them out by force, gaining cuts and nearly throwing up at the smell. The rathalos was first, being loaded up onto what can be described as a giant sled. We had to get the aptonoth to drag the body using rope onto it. We tied him up and then prepared the other sled for the rathian. As I was preparing the Rathians' wing for the pulling, I noticed a large shimmering object underneath it.

It was an egg.

It was large, that was for sure. Its texture as smooth as a pearl, with a blue sheen that could put a piece of malachite ore to shame. Cho'gath came over, and while he didn't say anything I knew he was as wide eyed as I was.

_This is a wyvern egg. _My mind told me. _I should destroy it here and now!_

I went to shatter the egg with my carving knife, but my companion grabbed my raised hand as I went to strike. I looked up at him, clearly irritated.

"What are you doing? This is a wyvern egg? Surely YOU should know what will happen if we leave don't destroy it!"

He shook his head, and pointed from the egg, to me, to the sled. I was confused, but eventually (after several angry points and a _lot_ of deciphering) I knew what he meant…

"You want me to _keep it?" _I exclaimed. Surely, he was crazy. Keep the egg? This guy's nuts!

He nodded, grinning. Then, he pointed from the ceiling to me, and again (after a lot more deciphering) I found out what he was saying…

"It's a gift from the heavens?" he nodded even faster, happy that I knew what he wanted. I found it ironic that he didn't see the pun in that, but my thought was broken, by the call of a certain drome I had forgot to keep track of.

We both turned, me drawing my sword. I threw cho'gath my hunting knife. It wasn't good for much but it was better than nothing. He wielded it in front of him, like someone would with a sword and shield. I knew he was practising!

The howling grew nearer, and for the first time I pondered how my sword would fair in a true fight. It was sleek, and black in colour. It had three spiked on the hilt, with the sheath bearing a similar resemblance. I wasn't sure, but I swore that it was covered in a fine black fur.

I was taken out of my daydreams by the battle cry of the jaggi drome. I didn't waste any time. I charged and struck with a vertical slash, my sword barely making a cut. It was then I realised I hadn't put a whetstone to this in all the years I had used it. I was screwed.

But the beast flinched and backed off, giving my comrade an opening. He lunged, going for the throat. A jaggi came out of nowhere and bit his hand, causing him to drop the knife. A quick punch to the head and the jaggi went down, but the drome was upon him. I went to his aid, but jaggi and jaggia cut me off, and I was forced to fight them. Cho'gath was now dodging the jaggi as it tried to rip him apart. Throwing in the occasional punch to the face.

A jaggia went to lunge at me, but I jumped back and lunged at it with my sword, stabbing the beast in the skull. I twisted my blade and it came out, spewing blood and brain matter onto the floor, continuing with my attack onto another jaggia, cutting its side. The jaggi were long dead, and I was left with five, now four, jaggia surrounding me. The wounded one hissed at me, before shifting its weight and slamming its hip into me, sending me flying into the wall. The sound of metal on rock could be heard, the sound of my armour complaining about its abuse. I hit the floor, pain shooting through my spine. I bared it and stood up, once again donning my sword. _No _I was saying in my head. _I will not be defeated. Not here! And not by these jaggia!_

Suddenly, power surged through my body. My back suddenly felt fine, and a small reddish aura surrounded my body. As the jaggia neared, preparing to kill me, I let out a battle cry and swung my sword in a round slash. For a second the jaggia were frozen in time, eyes wide. Then it caught up to them, and their heads hit the ground before their bodies did. I had decapitated them in a single blow!

The glow was fading, and the pain returning. So I drew the blade and ran in. the great jaggi saw me coming and prepare a hip-check. I jumped to the side and tried to pierce the creature, only to find (to my dismay) that even now my sword wouldn't pierce its hide. The creature lunged, and caught my arm making me drop my sword.

The pain came rushing back at once, and the aura left. I punched the drome, and it bit down harder. I cringed, but punched it again. And again. Another time and yet it refused to let go. I could feel the blood gushing out of my arm. It was turning pale, and I lost all mobility in it. My eyesight was blurring, I was losing too much blood. So much for armour. A noise to my left caught my attention. I saw it was Cho 'gal. He was cutting out something from the rathalos stomach. But what it was I couldn't tell.

I passed out before I could see it…

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><p>I awoke to find myself on the back of an aptonoth, sideways, like a Kelbi. I looked up. My aptonoth was tied by the neck to the back of the sled with the rathalos, trudging along behind it. I sat up, and took a look at our surroundings. We were almost back at the village. I turned to the rathalos again, and noticed an organ was missing: the flame sac<p>

_So that's how I'm alive. _I thought. _He must have thrown it at the great jaggi and somehow set it off. I owe him my life. _I noticed my back was still in pain. Healing, but in pain. My blade was slung in a small hammock on my steads side. I frowned at it _when I get back; I'm sharpening you so that it won't happen again. I'm a hunter! I shouldn't have been saved by a villager. I thought. _But he wasn't a villager, my subconscious told me. He's a trainee hunter, and a member of the ballista brother. Meaning he was prepared for this. I sighed. "Well, at least were alive" I mumbled to myself.

Then I remembered the egg.

I frantically looked around, and let out a sigh of relief when I saw it was on my sled. The blue sheen looking more magnificent in the sun. Slowly, I let my eyes close, and drifted off back to sleep…

As the sun set over the plains, three figures could be seen at the top of the hill near kokoto, as if they were watching the sun rise. In truth, they were sent from the guild, and were just scanning the area.

"Well well, what a nice little town we have here" said one of the three, clad in armour that showed he was a guild member.

"Indeed" said another, female this time. "This should turn out quite interesting"

"I doubt it" came the call from a shadowed figure, sitting under a tree. "if all goes to plan, we should be in and out of here in a few days, then we can go back to what we were doing before hand-"

"Look!" came the exclaimed cry off the girl. "There's a pair of aptonoth dragging along some carcasses!"

The shadowed figure came out from under the tree and took a pair of binoculars out of his bag "a rathalos and rathian. Both dead" he lowered them. "This is an unexpected turn of events…"

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><p><strong>well thats that. brownie points on who can guess the name of his longsword. also, who are these new arrivals? and what do they intent to do? youll have to keep reading to find out!<strong>

**love my story? find any flaws? or just feel like typing? click the magic review button at the bottom. i swear, it gives you free cookies!**

**this is gigabytes signing out.**


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